Resounding Silence (2016)

Resounding Silence (studies, 2016)

In 2012, at the age of 7, my first-born began to express difficulty understanding his purpose in the world and was unable to connect with others in a way that made him feel like he belonged. With his busy and brilliant mind on overdrive, he was despondent, emotionally impaired, and anxious.

In 2017, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. During this time, I too felt alone, terrified and scrutinized because my son didn't fit in and wasn't behaving like other children his age. I was in the dark on how to help him. No matter how much compassion, love and nurturing I gave him, he still struggled to be happy.

As he gets older, it becomes harder for him to adapt to society's expectations and social demands. Mood swings overshadow and disrupt an otherwise creative, brilliant and beautiful life.

This body of work expresses the moodiness of a typical Aspie life and expresses some common Asperger traits:

• Being "in their own world"

• Black and white thinking

• Can engage in tasks (sometimes mundane ones) for hours and hours

• Collects things

• Difficulty reading body language, facial expression and tone

• Eccentric personality

• Excellent rote memory

• Flat, or blank expression much of the time

• Idiosyncratic attachment to inanimate objects

• Intense focus on one or two subjects

• Limited interests

• Loves learning and information

• Preoccupied with their own agenda

• Repetitive routines or rituals

• Strong sensitivity to sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell

• Uncoordinated motor movements

• Can obsess about having friends to prove they’re “normal”

• Desire for friendships and social contact but difficulty acquiring and maintaining them